Bacterial panicle blight is a major disease of rice that tends to develop during hot, dry weather. Losses include reduced yield and milling. Losses reported in commercial rice fields vary from a trace to as high as 70 percent. (PDF Format Only)

The fungus causes severe grain discoloration, and after milling, the kernels appear black. (PDF format only)

Blast is the most important disease of rice worldwide and the second most important in Louisiana. Yield losses as high as 75 to 90 percent have been observed in Louisiana due to this disease. (PDF Format Only)

Brown spot is also called Helminthosporium leaf spot. It is one of the most prevalent rice diseases in Louisiana. (PDF Format Only)

Crown rot of rice is believed to be caused by a bacterial infection – although this disease is rarely observed. Symptoms first appear during tillering. (PDF Format Only)

Other names for this disease include brown sheath rot, Arkansas foot rot and black sheath rot. Crown sheath rot has been considered a minor disease of rice, but reports from Texas suggest severe damage can occur.

False smut is a minor grain disease of rice in Louisiana – although it occasionally develops to epidemic levels in certain areas and is more common on rice grown in the northern parts of the state. (PDF Format Only)

Many fungi infect developing grain and cause spots and discoloration on the hulls or kernels. Kernels discolored by fungal infections or insect damage commonly are called pecky rice or peck. (PDF Format Only)

Kernel smut of rice normally is a minor disease in Louisiana but can become epidemic in local areas, especially the farther north the rice is grown. (PDF Format Only)

Leaf scald is present in the southern rice-growing areas of the United States and in Louisiana each year. The disease affects leaves, panicles and seedlings, and its pathogen is seed-borne and survives between crops on infected seeds. (PDF Format Only)

Leaf smut is a widely distributed, but somewhat minor, disease of rice. The fungus produces slightly raised, angular, black spots (sori) on both sides of the leaves. Although rare, it also can produce spots on leaf sheaths. (PDF Format Only)

Narrow brown leaf spot of rice varies in severity from year to year and is more severe as rice plants approach maturity. (PDF Format Only)

Root rots are probably among the most common but misdiagnosed diseases of rice. Symptoms can be noted as early as emergence. (PDF Format Only)

Seedling blight, or damping off, is a disease complex caused by several seed-borne and soil-borne fungi. Environmental conditions are important in disease development. Cold, wet weather is most favorable to disease development. (PD Format Only)

Sheath blight has been the most economically significant disease of rice in Louisiana since the early 1970s. Sheath blight is characterized by large oval spots on the leaf sheaths and irregular spots on leaf blades. (PDF Format Only)

Sheath rot of rice symptoms are most severe on the uppermost leaf sheaths that enclose the young panicle during the boot stage. Lesions are oblong or irregular oval spots with gray or light brown centers and a dark reddish-brown diffuse margin. (PDF Format Only)

The disease resembles sheath blight but usually is less severe and has dark brown lesion borders. This disease favors high nitrogen levels but usually is minor on Louisiana rice. No control practices are recommended. (PDF Format Only)

It is common on rice around the world. The disease is present in all rice fields in Louisiana. Only occasional incidences are observed, but the disease may be more severe in restricted areas of a field. (PDF Format Only)

Stem rot occurs erratically on Louisiana rice. The disease typically appears late in the season when control practices are ineffective or prohibited. Infection tends to cause lodging, making harvesting difficult, and seed sterility. (PDF Format Only)

When using the water-seeding method of planting rice, it is difficult to obtain uniform stands of sufficient density to obtain maximum yields. (PDF Format Only)

The symptoms are similar to the narrow brown leaf spot symptoms except that the lesions are slightly wider with white centers. (PDF Format Only)

Characteristic symptoms appear after tillering. Leaf tips change from green to yellow and eventually to white. The tip withers above the white area, becoming brown or tan and tattered. (PDF Format Only)